Page 13 of 14 FirstFirst ... 11121314 LastLast
Results 145 to 156 of 158
  1. #145

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Quote Originally Posted by jonboy79 View Post
    The gap between our opinions has narrowed, so i guess successful discussion was found.

    I'm not sure why he would voluntarily sit out of games though, which appears possible if not probable.
    I would buy that his recurring back problems could be due tocontinued poor conditioning. It could even be his stomach muscles are too weak, and he hasn't put the effort into remedying that.

    I don't think it has to be that "mysterious" though. They are calling it spasms, as in muscular issues, which could easily be fleeting and hard to diagnose/find. I guess i jsut don't find it odd that a 6'9" 350 lb young man that pounds on his body for a living and is NOT known for being a gym rat and is known for being lazy has chronic back issues.
    I actually thought he would come back for week 1, assuming he was a gamer, and after playing the game he would get into a "play game, become too hurt on Monday from playing the game to practice for several days, feel better right before next game" rhythm to avoid practice.

    But he gets paid regardless of playing the games, and he really doesn't have to play in too many games (assuming he plays well, and I think he would) this year for San Diego to keep him for next year when he is due another $4.5M. It also probably looks fishier if his injury perfectly matched up with the preseason.

    And even if they released him and bit the bullet, he could just claim himself to be "finally" healthy, point to his game tape, age, size, etc and get another desperate/gambling team to shell out some decent money (obviously not spectacular money, but Jared seems satisfied with decent money for no work).

    I think in this case back spasms = general term for inexplicable pain in the back. He is consulting with doctor after doctor as if his ailment is still a mystery and undiagnosed. This makes sense considering even back spasms respond to rest and treatment (ice/heat, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, weightlifting), usually heal enough to give it a try in a matter of days not weeks/months, and Gaither isn't getting better then getting re-injured frequently, he is just permanently injured with no timetable on a return.

    I just don't find it odd that a guy who is known to be lazy when it comes to practice is doing what he needs to do (saying he is too hurt to play regardless of whether it is true) in order to get out of the work. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what is said when he finally comes back. I expect it to be sudden and lacking in details/explanation (much like the whole situation).





  2. #146

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Anyone can go to the ER or Doctor and say they feel this or have these symtoms which could mean I have this. Its the Drs job to do tests to see if they patient has anything serious related to the "symtoms" he says he has. If there is nothing serious then they do less invasive tests to see what the deal is. If they dont see anything then it basicly shows the player or paitent is making stuff up. Once all the CT/MRI/Bloodwork comes back negative for any injury its clear there is nothing wrong as almost any Illness or Injury will come up on a MRI/CT scan and Bloodwork will check on everything else.





  3. #147

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    I think we can all agree on two points when it comes to Gaither.

    1. He can be a dominant player at times
    2. You can't rely on his availability

    The unreliability goes all the way back to him having to attend Hargrave Military just to get into college -- and then basically getting thrown out of college when his team needed him most. His athleticism goes all the way back to his having been offered a basketball scholarship to play and South Carolina.

    The guy is an enigma. Which is why there is always a long thread whenever there is a post here about him.

    If he's on your team, you want to believe the unreliability stems from issues beyond his control. I know I tried to rationalize that he was too talented to give up on. But after so many issues over so many years, it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.





  4. #148

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    I don't think he is an enigma at all.

    He's sitting on $9 Million that NOBODY can take away - and all he has to do for it is get up in the morning. No concussions, no torn ACL, no bruises, no broken bones - no sweat.

    Sooner or later the Charges will get tired of it and they will cut him. Some other team will pick him up and put him on a minimum vet contract - at which point he will play his ass off for 16 games. At that point he will sign another long term contract with another large guarantee (lets say another $9 Million) and the cycle will repeat - the mysterious back injury will reappear again.

    The ONLY question is how many times can he do this. I think at least one more - maybe two more times - after which he will retire a wealthy man.



    Quote Originally Posted by Shas View Post
    I think we can all agree on two points when it comes to Gaither.

    1. He can be a dominant player at times
    2. You can't rely on his availability

    The unreliability goes all the way back to him having to attend Hargrave Military just to get into college -- and then basically getting thrown out of college when his team needed him most. His athleticism goes all the way back to his having been offered a basketball scholarship to play and South Carolina.

    The guy is an enigma. Which is why there is always a long thread whenever there is a post here about him.

    If he's on your team, you want to believe the unreliability stems from issues beyond his control. I know I tried to rationalize that he was too talented to give up on. But after so many issues over so many years, it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.





  5. #149

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Quote Originally Posted by rharris1986 View Post
    I don't think he is an enigma at all.

    He's sitting on $9 Million that NOBODY can take away - and all he has to do for it is get up in the morning. No concussions, no torn ACL, no bruises, no broken bones - no sweat.

    Sooner or later the Charges will get tired of it and they will cut him. Some other team will pick him up and put him on a minimum vet contract - at which point he will play his ass off for 16 games. At that point he will sign another long term contract with another large guarantee (lets say another $9 Million) and the cycle will repeat - the mysterious back injury will reappear again.

    The ONLY question is how many times can he do this. I think at least one more - maybe two more times - after which he will retire a wealthy man.
    I'm not buying the strategy. Easily the optimal strategy if his health was completely within his control would have been to play well in 2010. He had played at a very high level for 2 years and would have been due a monster deal. By "faking" the injury, he set himself back a full year and was at risk of never getting any guaranteed money.

    So long story short, I don't think he was faking injury.

    What's the real story? I doubt we'll ever hear the entire truth, but he's been the most disappointing single Raven in their history in my mind. Yes, worse than Boller, Taylor, Deron Jenkins, or Dan Cody, none of whom had nearly as much talent.

    I rode home on the plane Friday and we heard a young man in the seat behind us explaining his reasons why he couldn't join the peace corps. His central reason was that he didn't like their drug-testing policy and thought they should have no business testing him for marajuana when they were sending him into a hazardous situation like teaching English in Africa. He said he was going to try law school since he'd heard law firms "don't usually do drug testing".

    I'm not saying Gaither's problem was specifically drugs or anything else for that matter, but I've encountered a handful of talented young people I would never be able to save from themselves because their view of the world is so contrary to their own best interests. I'm afraid Gaither may be one of those.





  6. #150

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Quote Originally Posted by jonboy79 View Post
    It's a small smaple size to so....
    ...it's completely irrelevant and contradicted by dozens if not hundreds more on which they've gotten it correct.

    Finished that for ya. You're welcome.

    Quote Originally Posted by HoustonRaven View Post
    Look, it's either he's been a lazy POS or has a legit, serious back issue.
    There's a third possibility. He's a lazy POS, practiced wrong and wound up hurting his back, which gave him a legit, serious back issue. I actually think that one's probably the most likely.

    - C -
    ---------------------------------------------------

    www.oblongspheroid.com

    A blog about any and everything football.

    Twitter: oblong_spheroid





  7. #151

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Quote Originally Posted by Filmstudy View Post
    I'm not buying the strategy. Easily the optimal strategy if his health was completely within his control would have been to play well in 2010. He had played at a very high level for 2 years and would have been due a monster deal. By "faking" the injury, he set himself back a full year and was at risk of never getting any guaranteed money.
    He would have had to play 2010 at RT, which was the problem. He also would have had to work hard all year for the smallish tender amount, an amount he also would get by sitting out with an injury (not working). The biggest RT contracts are barely more than his current middling LT contract, and he could have looked bad at RT (who knows).

    But the main issue I have with this theory is that it assumes Gaither would do whatever it took to max out his earnings. In other words, "optimal" depends on how you value both money and effort/work. I think he is happier earning X for no work vs 3X for hard work. Especially when the X is $11-12M. It doesn't make much sense for most people, but I don't see how it can be ruled out in this case (there are plenty of examples of guys that simply coast on their talent and earn/perform way less than they could by working harder, this could be just an extreme version of that mindset).

    I don't think there was ever any risk that he would not get guaranteed money, assuming he would put in some effort for at least a short period of time. He was too young and big (and had the game tape) to be denied opportunities to play, and play at LT. All he had to do was say he was suddenly healthy and then perform for a short period of time, just like he did.

    I think he really isn't interested in playing football. Maybe he never has liked playing and was pushed into it. I think if he won the lottery at age 20, he never even enters the NFL, etc.

    Obviously no one knows what he is thinking or how he feels, but I do know that this kind of situation is so rare as to be questionable, in terms of mysterious injuries causing so much missed time.
    Last edited by Haloti92; 09-03-2012 at 01:37 AM.





  8. #152
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    From parts unknown
    Posts
    1,110

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    What would a preseason be without a healthy debate about Jared Gaither? I agree with JB on one thing, when healthy and motivated he is dominant. See last years game at SD when he shut down Suggs. BUT, he, like all of us, is a package deal, and that means his talent will always outweigh his production.





  9. #153
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Houston, TX Y'all
    Posts
    34,414

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Just remembered we had an active Gaither thread already going so they have been merged and the thread moved to a more appropriate area of the boards .....





  10. #154
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    The Land of Verdite
    Posts
    52,634
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Quote Originally Posted by jonboy79 View Post
    An objective analysis that proves there is NOTHING wrong with his back.
    Good luck with all of that.
    The "problem' is that backs ARE nebulous in nature, and most doctors worth a damn will tell you there is very little predictibility with back injuries and there severity. With back injuries there is little to do but take the patients word for it.
    During the off-season following the 2010 season, both Jared Gaither and his agent declared that Gaither had fully recovered from the injury and was ready to play. I can provide links to those very quotes and even a quote about Gaither being in great shape.
    "Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore





  11. #155

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Talk about deja vu......

    Gaither hasn't practiced since July 27. This was his first time addressing reporters in two weeks.

    There was some tenseness to it, as his health is arguably the most significant but mysterious storyline entering the season. He missed about all of training camp due to the injury. The team has given no other timetable than "day-to-day," which it's used since the start.

    Two weeks ago, Gaither began working out on the Chargers' side practice field. Last week, he stopped and had an MRI, the results of which have not been released.

    On Monday, he steadily declined to shed light on anything related to the injury.
    http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...ional-athlete/
    “Talk's cheap - let’s go play.” - #19, Johnny Unitas

    Follow me on Twitter @ravenssalarycap





  12. #156
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    The Land of Verdite
    Posts
    52,634
    Blog Entries
    1

    Re: Gaither Back Spasms

    Gaither said that he was healthy. His agent said that he was healthy. They said that he was in great shape.

    Why shouldn't I believe Jared Gaither?
    "Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore





Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Link To Mobile Site
var infolinks_pid = 3297965; var infolinks_wsid = 0; //—->